6
Were they even trying?
It's never a good sign when a drama have a bad set up from the very beginning. At least that helped eliminating any expectations I had to begin with. Unfortunately, the drama failed to make any substantial recovery or improvement after its lackluster beginning. It can be deemed as one of the most soulless revenge dramas out there. Even trashy revenge soap operas have more to them compared to this disappointment. Furthermore, the cast and overall production of the drama were barely average, at best. One particular aspect that showed how lousy the writing was is how they felt obligated to pair everyone in the last episode despite the drama having no romance or similar direction.Was this review helpful to you?
Good
The drama started with a compelling and impactful beginning, yet the subsequent portions failed to maintain the same level. It's also being heavily carried by Kim Seo Hyung while other elements gradually started to fall apart in one way or another. The hotel plotline felt somewhat unconvincing within the overarching narrative, lacking a sufficient sense of coherence. Moreover, the drama exhibited a lack of dedicated investment in any particular genre, instead dabbling intermittently in different genres. Although the characters were well fleshed out, yet, the baddies group, aside from the main guy, came across as somewhat exaggerated and cartoonish. The drama also needed some consistency with its direction, it was swinging between serious and symbolic distraction. Nonetheless, there are still several commendable aspects to appreciate within the drama. The calm and immersive investigative atmosphere, supported by engaging dialogue and captivating cinematography are amongst the things to look forward to.Was this review helpful to you?
Good
The best thing about this drama is that it wasn't from the student perspective but from the teachers' perspective. It does a lot right and delivers a decent package. However, it is worth noting that, given its lengthy runtime of over 20 hours, there are moments where the narrative can become monotonous or lose its momentum. Additionally, a minor thing that irked me a bit is how certain students looked a bit too old to be a teenager.Was this review helpful to you?
.
The key here is to approach this drama with tempered expectations. Its primary driving forces lie within a heavy love triangle and a big play on "memories from past lives". If you can't tolerate either elements then maybe you should skip it.However, what stood out the most to me is who wrote this drama. I noticed that, this writer, across her other previous projects, she harbors a discernible aversion towards the institution of marriage, a sentiment that seems to have a deeply personal resonance for her. This notion was amplified even further in this particular drama. She took it even further by carrying her agenda across all of the side couples blatantly. Speaking of agendas and taking things personal, this writer really likes to shove her owns while disregarding its effect on the coherency. Another example, the whole ordeal with both male leads at the beginning. There were other examples as well.
While any writer is entitled to hold any opinions or take a stance on social matters they want, it can become a headache and burdensome when these viewpoints are overtly thrust upon the audience without contributing anything substantial to the broader conversation. They just end up shouting into an echo chamber eventually.
The final episode, unfortunately, proved to be an insufferably superficial culmination of the drama.
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.
Super juiced with a ridiculous endless ride of never ending twists. It definitely started to feel overwhelming in the second half. At some point, I just wanted it to end already because there was nothing new or innovative about these twists anymore. I wish some characters had a bigger role in the story, like the detective's wife and the ex in-law detective.Was this review helpful to you?
If only....
Decent family drama with a big cast and a handful of varied stories, or that's what we were promised from watching the first few episodes! It started off great but it ended up over promising and under delivering. Almost every single story was neglected or ended up being under developed after 10-15 episodes, except two stories. Sa Ya's story and the eldest son Dong Jin's story, the latter one was terrible and boring. If you are excited to see Lee Min Jung then don't, she got ripped off of screen-time and was barely seen later on. From a first glance, there was a lot to like about the drama but it really ended up being disappointing.Was this review helpful to you?
.
Good cast and had a decent start but there weren't enough interesting elements to keep it alive, it fell off shortly after. Not even the thriller/mystery elements were that good. Half of it was filled with nothing. Weird and out of place injection of romance especially with Ye Eun.Was this review helpful to you?
Bad
More like "Love in Stupidity"! It's just a bad melo. If they wanted to make it driven by stupidity then they should've doubled down and went all the way in at the very least. I would also very much prefer if Park Ha Na took the "after surgery" role instead of Park Han Byul. At least that would've made the drama a bit worthwhile.Was this review helpful to you?
Ehh
Every single character was as unlikable as they could be. About 90% of the characters were scummy. All relationships were bad, both romantic and non-romantic ones, especially the ones including the fathers. It's not about cats, it's about bad daddies! The entire production screams low quality. The cast performance was disappointing, especially both male leads. Despite their lack of chemistry, they couldn't pull up more than 2 reactions per episode. There weren't enough side plots or overlapping plots other than the main one, which made the main one feel extremely draggy for 119 episodes. The only side plot that had some kind of continuity was Eun Sook and that's it! The main story sucked, nothing was interesting or fun about it. I'm having a hard time to find anything to like here, maybe Choi Yoon Young because I liked her in "Seo Yeong, My Daughter (2012)"?Was this review helpful to you?
Good enough
The drama had commitment issues and was quite indecisive in what to make out of this drama. It was swinging between making an economic/political piece supported by human drama and between a human drama themed around economics and politics. This was mostly noticeably around the middle parts. Irrespective of its narrative direction, dramas of this nature are reliant upon the strength and range of their characters, and in this case it was pretty limited in that regard. The four leads did provide that to some extent and had a good dynamic and contrast but that wasn't remotely enough for a drama of this scope. The remainder of the cast felt more or less like a background noise, of which, they were divided into two groups, the selfish ones and the lesser selfish ones.Regarding the ending, the drama built itself up to a big climax but it never got there. It didn't allow itself to manifest into something greater despite the earlier episodes indicating the exact opposite of that. One last thing, in the last episode they were throwing around new emerging ideas/topics and relevant world news that are related to economics at the time but it was a load of crap! By the way, the title of the drama is kinda cheesy compared to its actual content. Anyway, it's good enough.
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!!
Never seen a drama with a good start but flopped so hard and fast. As if there were two completely separate writers. Most of the story was packed in the first 2-3 episodes (out of 16) while the rest were almost filled with nothing. The reason behind the last episode being a time skip is because there was no content left and they had to air something for the 16th episode. Another major irrecoverable mess up were the characters. The villains had zero effort put into writing them. The female lead took the "stupid female lead" trope to a never seen before levels. Also, poor chemistry with the leads. In general, the drama progressively gotten worse with every passing minute without ever recovering. That's impressive!Was this review helpful to you?
Good
I found that Park Wan and the triangle involving her was unfitting and problematic to the drama. I understand that they wanted to draw some parallels with the old ladies but it could have been done in another way. There were plenty of other possibilities to make her intertwine with others. I would rather have that time reallocated to the elders. Anyway, it's good.Was this review helpful to you?
Infested with unlikable characters
The female lead was doing an unbelievable amount of heavy lifting to not let this drama sink under. Both the actress and the character. The romance failed even at its climax, mainly because of the male lead. He failed to redeem himself from the jerk-ass status he established earlier on. Their love always felt one sided from the FL while the ML was there to give a reaction. However, the worst part has to be the fairy tale and its association with the older cast. One more thing, the incestuous brother was a bad addition to the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Deceiving looks
Despite being a short one, they wasted so much time on other matters instead of the main objective that's the "dead girl". The investigation/mystery became a side plot and this ended up being a short teen romance drama. Hardly okay!Was this review helpful to you?
The concept seemed appealing at first but...
Clearly not much thought was put into it. Tacky, flashy and loud. Feels less than mediocre at times. I don't want to get a 2nd season of this manufactured environmental waste.Was this review helpful to you?
